Concrete form assembly tool

ABSTRACT

A concrete form assembly tool is provided with a locking portion which locks onto a snap tie used to hold a form together. A handle member with a cross bar attached thereto extends from the locking portion. The cross bar presses against the form members to hold the form together while permitting the operator, with his other hand, to place a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;hairpin&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; upon the end of the snap tie, the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;hairpin&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; acting to hold the form together without the need of the tool.

United States Patent ml Ward [451 Sept. 4, 1973 [541 CONCRETE FORM ASSEMBLY TOOL 3,680,835 8/1972 Rose 254/29 R [76] Inventor: Donnie L. Ward, P.O. Box 164,

Black Springs Nev. 89508 Primary Exammer-Robert C. Rlordon Assistant Examiner.|. C. Peters [22] Fll d J ly 1971 Att0rneyRoylance, Abrams, Berdo & Kaul App]. No.: 166,477

[52] US. Cl. 254/29 R, 254/77 [51] Int. Cl E04g 19/00 [58] Field of Search.'. 29/267, 247; 254/29 R, 77, 120, 131

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 705,555 7/l902 Boatright 254/77 2,525,950 lO/l950 Saffioti 29/267 X 2,556,343 6/l95l Shearer 254/27 [57] ABSTRACT A concrete form assembly tool is provided with a locking portion which locks onto a snap tie used to hold a form together. A handle member with a cross bar attached thereto extends from the locking portion. The cross bar presses against the form members to hold the form together while permitting the operator, with his other hand, to place a hairpin upon the end of the snap tie, the hairpin acting to hold the form together without the need of the tool.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEP 4 mm 3,756,562

F l G. 5 INVENTOR DONNI E L. WARD ATTORNEYS CONCRETE FORM ASSEMBLY TOOL This invention relates to implements used in the construction trade and more particularly it relates to a tool to assist workmen in the assembly of concrete forms.

Concrete forms are well known and are advantageously used in the pouring of concrete walls and other concrete structures. Normally, the form consists of plywood sides with some form of spacer between the sides. The spacer often takes the form of a so-called snap tie which consists of a metal rod upon which some movable cones or washers are placed to form a spacer for the two plywood sides. The cones or washers contact flanges upon the snap tie to prevent the plywood sides from being moved along the snap tie to a point closer than the distance between the flanges contacting cones upon the snap tie. The end portions of snap tie extend through the plywood sides and two movable wooden or metallic members are positioned adjacent the protruding portion of the snap tie. Each end of the snap tie has an additional flange which is used to engage a so-called hairpin" or wedge-shaped locking member. The wedge-shaped locking member is constructed to engage the flange upon the end of the snap tie and, by properly wedging it between the end flange and the two movable members adjacent the protrusion of the snap tie, the form members are rigidly secured together.

While the foregoing type of concrete form is very commonly and frequently used, this type of form is somewhat difficult to assemble. The assembly difficulty consequently reduces the efficiency of the workmen assembling them by requiring time-consuming digital manipulations. Specifically, it has been found that while construction workers can place the hairpin upon one end of the snap tie with relative ease. The placing of the second hairpin upon the other end of a given snap tie is somewhat more troublesome and requires more time and further manipulation than that required for the positioning of the first hairpin upon a given snap tie.

In order to overcome the foregoing problem and difficulty in the construction of concrete forms, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea tool to assist workmen in the assembly of concrete forms.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tool useful in the assembly of concrete forms, which tool can be operated with one hand while leaving a'workmans other hand free for the positioning of the hairpin.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a simple efficient tool useful in the assembly of concrete forms, such tool being entirely preset to avoid the need for any adjustments.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a concrete form assembly tool which is of simple rugged construction and not susceptible to breakage even when subjected to normal construction site abuse.

To accomplish the foregoing objects of the present invention, a clamping or locking device is provided for locking onto the portion of a snap tie extending beyond the plywood form side wall. The clamping or locking device of the present invention is a member which includes a detent arrangement which permits the member to lock onto the snap tie when the'snap tie is positioned in parallel relationship to the bottom of the groove in the member. A handle is provided which extends from the clamping member and has a cross bar positioned thereon. The cross bar is engageable against the two form members which normally surround the snap tie. When the clamping member is fitted onto the snap tie and the cross bar engaged the two form members, the snap tie will be in a position whereby the end flange extends sufficiently far beyond the two forms members surrounding the snap tie to permit the workman to easily place the hairpin upon the end of the snap tie.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings which form a part of the original disclosure in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a form assembly tool in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the clamping member portion of the tool, looking along the line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the form assembly tool;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the form assembly tool in use for installation of a hairpin upon a snap tie; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a typical hairpin.

Referring now to the drawings in further detail, the tool is shown with a handle member shown generally as 10 which is attached to a substantially cube shaped clamping member, shown generally as 12. The handle member 10 can have any desired cross-sectional configuration, although a configuration with flat sides,

such as a hexagon, is preferred for ease of gripping. The handle 10 is advantageously constructed of a solid material such as steel in order to produce the desired structural strength. The handle member 10 is attached to one side of the cube shaped clamping member 12 to form a continuous extension thereof. The handle member is connected to the side of the clamping member at an accute angle.

A cylindrical cross bar 14 is attached to the handle member 10 along the upper surface 15 thereof and it extends substantially perpendicularly across the handle member 10. The cross bar 14 project laterally beyond the sides of the handle 10 for reasons to be explained further hereinafter.

The clamping member 12 has'a groove 15 which extends between a top surface 16 and a parallel bottom surface 18. The groove 15 is comprised of a substantially straight side wall portion 20, a tapering side wall portion 22 and a curved or rounded inner wall extending between the groove side walls 20 and 22. The groove. 15 opens at the front wall 26 of the clamping member, a wall extending perpendicularly'to the top and bottom surfaces 16 and 18. The clamping'member also has a pair of opposed parallel side walls 28 which The groove 15 is further provided with a detent mechanism for holding a snap tie 30 into the position shown in FIG. 2. The detent mechanism is comprised of a metal ball 32, a spring 34, a hole 36 in the clamping member 12 and a screw 38 threaded into the hole 36. The hole 36 is drilled into the clamping member 12 and extends from the top wall 16 at a slight angle to the groove 15. In the circular opening at the bottom of the hole 36 the metal ball 32 is mounted to pass partially therethrough and into the groove 15. The spring 34 is under compression because the screw 38 is screwed into threads within hole 36 compressing the spring and maintaining the metal ball 32 in a position to permit a portion of the metal ball 32 to extend through the circular opening in the tapering wall portion 32. The metal ball 32 is movable and acts as a detent to hold the snap tie 30 in the position as shown in FIG. 2.

The curved bottom portion 24 of the groove 15 is provided with a plurality of grooves or serrations 40 which extend along the full length of the groove 15, each groove 40 being cut into the bottom portion 24, the cut being substantially Parallel to side 16. The grooves 40 upon the curved bottom portion 24 provide a rough surface for contacting the snap tie 30 in order to create a surface having friction between the clamping member 12 and snap tie 30.

In order to understand how the tool of the present invention assists in the assembly of concrete forms, reference is made to FIGS. 4 and in which a snap tie 30 is shown in the position between two spaced plywood side walls 42. The plywood side walls are maintained in a parallel spatial relationship by two flanges 44 which engage cone members 46 and prevent the cone members 46 from sliding along the snap tie 30. The snap ties extend through the plywood walls 42 and have flange portions 48 at opposite ends of the snap tie 30. Two securing bars 50 are positioned between one plywood wall 42 and the hairpin or wedge 52. The securing bars 50 are constructed of metal or of wood and are most typically constructed of wooden 2 X 4 members.

The hairpin or wedge 52 is shown in FIG. 5 having a slot 54 for engaging the end flange 48 upon a snap tie 30. The flange portion 48 can pass through the circular opening 56 of slot 54 upon the hairpin or wedge 52. The wedge can subsequently be forced into the wedging position as shown in FIG. 4 which creates a force for maintaining the securing bars 50 and the side wall 42 in the spaced relationship as shown in FIG. 4.

At the other end of the snap tie 30, as viewed in FIG. 4, are two additional securing bars 58 which are shown in a spatial relationship similar to that for securing bars 50. However, no hairpin is shown in position on the right side of snap tie 30 as viewed in FIG. 4. The form constructing tool is shown in its operative position wherein the clamping member 12 is engaging the snap tie 30 and the cross bar 14 is contacting the two securing bars 58. By applying pressure to the handle 10, the

cross bar 14 will provide a force against the securing bars 58 in a leftwardly direction which is operative to force the plywood side wall 42 against the cone 46 until the cone contacts the circular flange 44. Once the form assembly tool is positioned as shown in FIG. 4, the right flange 48 upon the snap tie 30 extends sufficiently beyond the securing bars 58 to permit the easy placing of a hairpin 52 upon the snap tie 30. The subsequent wedging of the hairpin" 52 between the flange 48 and the securing bars 58 will provide a sufficient force to maintain the securing bars 52 in the spatial relationship as shown in FIG. 4 without the assistance of the tool.

It will thus be understood that the present invention provides a tool for assisting in the assembly of concrete forms which is comprised of a clamping portion for clamping onto a snap tie. The tool is further provided with a cross bar upon a handle member for contacting and maintaining the securing bars in their desired position prior to the installation of a hairpin or wedge member. Upon installation the wedge member will maintain the various parts in the desired spatial relationship.

Upon reading the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that the objectives set forth at the outset of the specification have been achieved by the present invention. However, since the foregoing detailed description has been directed to a preferred embodiment, various modifications and changes will be apparent to those of skill in the art, without department from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tool for use in the assembly of concrete forms, said tool comprising:

a clamping member having a groove formed therein for receiving a tie rod used in assembling the forms;

a handle projecting from said clamping member at an angle with respect thereto;

detent means within said groove for retaining said tie rod therein; and

a cross bar attached to said handle for acting as a fulcrum, when the tool engages the tie rod in said groove, to apply pressure toward the concrete forms, wherein said groove includes a first straight side wall and an opposed second side wall including a portion tapering away from said first side wall, and

wherein said detent is located in said second side wall and is a spring biased ball.

2. A tool as defined in claim 1 wherein the inner wall of said groove is a rounded wall extending between said first and second groove walls.

3. A tool as defined in claim 1 wherein said groove is provided with a series of serrations to improve the gripping of said tie rod in said groove. 

1. A tool for use in the assembly of concrete forms, said tool comprising: a clamping member having a groove formed therein for receiving a tie rod used in assembling the forms; a handle projecting from said clamping member at an angle with respect thereto; detent means within said groove for retaining said tie rod therein; and a cross bar attached to said handle for acting as a fulcrum, when the tool engages the tie rod in said groove, to apply pressure toward the concrete forms, wherein said groove includes a first straight side wall and an opposed second side wall including a portion tapering away from said first side wall, and wherein said detent is located in said second side wall and is a spring biased ball.
 2. A tool as defined in claim 1 wherein the inner wall of said groove is a rounded wall extending between said first and second groove walls.
 3. A tool as defined in claim 1 wherein said groove is provided with a series of serrations to improve the gripping of said tie rod in said groove. 